Kitty Spencer, Princess Diana‘s niece, married Michael Lewis in 2021. However, one iconic piece of family jewelry, the infamous Spencer tiara, stayed home. Kitty, daughter of Diana’s brother Charles, the 9th Earl Spencer, chose not to wear Diana’s most iconic statement piece on her wedding day due to “painful memories,” claims a jeweler.
Kitty Spencer opted out of wearing Princess Diana’s Spencer tiara on her wedding day
When Kitty Spencer tied the knot with Michael Lewis in 2021, she opted out of wearing a statement piece of jewelry traditionally donned by many women in her family. The Spencer tiara became known worldwide after Princess Diana wore the crown at her wedding to then-Prince Charles in 1981.
Per Express, jeweler James Constantinou explained why the tiara could bring Diana’s niece some “painful” memories. “It is thought that wearing the tiara would bring back painful memories for Kitty, remembering her aunt who died in tragic circumstances, and also memories of her own mother’s marriage which was also not a happy ending.”
Kitti’s mother is Victoria Aitken. Aitken was wed to Earl Spencer from 1989 through 1997.
Many of the Spencer family women wore the now-infamous tiara on their wedding days
Princess Diana made the Spencer family tiara infamous at her nuptials to then-Prince Charles in July 1981. However, the diamond-encrusted diadem was also used by other members of her family at their weddings.
Her two older sisters, Lady Sarah Spencer (now Sarah McCorquadale) and Lady Jane Spencer (now Jane Fellowes), wore the Spencer tiara for their weddings in 1980 and 1978, respectively. Kitty’s mother, Victoria Aitken, also wore the family heirloom.
After the Princess of Wales’s death in 1997, it was returned to Earl Charles Spencer, Diana’s brother. In 2018, Celia McCorquodale made it part of her wedding ensemble, the first time it was used since Diana’s 1997 death. Celia is Princess Diana’s niece (and Lady Sarah’s daughter).
In the 1930s, Garrard constructed the Spencer tiara in its current form. There are diamonds shaped into tulips and stars framed by several elegant scrolls using a set of nineteenth-century diamonds that once belonged to Lady Sarah Spencer, the daughter of the 4th Earl Spencer.
What headpiece did Kitty Spencer wear on her wedding day?
Instead of wearing the diamond-encrusted Spencer tiara, Lady Kitty Spencer wore flower garlands in her blonde hair. It was styled in a chignon. To Express, Constantinou claimed, “Lady Kitty has always remained very private. She has never discussed the choice not to wear the tiara.”
He continued, “She wanted to combine her love of Italy with her English heritage. This involved flower garlands were worn in the hair.” Constantinou also revealed that Kitty was entitled to wear the crown as a Spencer family descendant.
“She could have opted to wear a discreet piece in a nod to her heritage,” the expert said. However, the tiara may not have worked with Kitty’s five custom Dolce & Gabbana dresses throughout the festivities.
Elements of this story were first reported by Page Six and The Court Jeweller.